This invention relates generally to optical scanners for scanning record media, and more particularly relates to an apparatus and method for vertical mounting of an optical scanner.
The use of symbols or labels which comprise bar codes as a means of identifying data which is used in processing items sold in the retail industry, and for other purposes as well, has been widely accepted. A particular bar code, such as the Universal Product Code (UPC), has been established as the industry standard for the grocery and other related retail industries.
In present-day merchandise checkout systems, the use of optical scanners or readers for scanning the UPC labels on purchased merchandise items has become quite common. In the checkout systems in use today, the optical reader can take the form of a reader mechanism located in a checkout counter, or the form of a hand-held wand. In either case, the optical reader will scan the bar code pattern that forms the UPC label, and will generate signals representing the bars and spaces of the pattern for transmission to a processor which determines the character represented by the bar code pattern. The character which identifies the purchased items is then transmitted to an associated data terminal device and from there to a remote or back office processor which looks up the price of the item in a table located in the processor. The price is then transmitted back through the terminal device, where the price is printed on a receipt by a printer mechanism located in the terminal device, and then to a customer display located adjacent to the checkout counter where the price of the item is displayed. If an error occurs due to a malfunction of the printer or if the price of the item is not listed in the price lookup table, error signals are generated, notifying the operator to take appropriate action to correct the problem.
Scanners employed in merchandise checkout systems are frequently mounted horizontally in checkout counters with a transparent window mounted flush with the horizontal surface of the counter, so that articles bearing UPC symbols to be scanned are drawn across the scanning window by the operator of the checkout system. However such an arrangement has certain disadvantages. Laser scanning beams are projected upwardly through the scanner window, which could be objectionable in certain instances. The tranparent window may become scratched or dirty by virtue of merchandise articles being constantly dragged over it. Window cleaning or replacement may be periodically required at considerable expense. Also, laws and/or regulations in some countries may provide that an operator of a checkout system must be able to sit while at work. This may limit the vertical space in a counter in which a scanner unit may be disposed.
For these reasons, a vertically mounted scanner, in which the scanning beams are projected horizontally or in a downwardly-angled orientation, may be advantageous. Such an installation eliminates the problem of dirty or damaged scanner windows, and does not require the use of space beneath the counter surface, thus making simpler the design of a scanning system in which the operator can sit with legs extending beneath the counter.